Mission Of Joy Rolls To Regret Win

RyZan Sun Racing LLC and Madaket Stables' Mission of Joy, trained by Graham Motion, stalked the early pace from third, then kicked away in the stretch to win the $200,000 Regret (G3) Saturday at Churchill Downs.

The odds-on favorite in the field of six 3-year-old fillies, Mission of Joy was winning her second graded stakes this year and fourth overall from six career starts. Making her fourth start of 2023, her only loss this year came in her previous outing when she was a troubled third in Edgewood (G2) on May 5 but she would not be denied Saturday. She captured the Florida Oaks (G3) March 11 at Gulfstream Park.

Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, the Kitten's Joy filly found an opening at the top of the stretch, collared pacesetter Miss Riddler at the three-sixteenths pole and scooted clear to a 1 1/2 length win in the Regret, easily holding back 2-1 second choice Papilio, who was trapped behind rivals in early stretch but when shifting inward split foes and took aim on the leader but was second-best. Mrs. Astor finished third. four lengths back, after rallying from last.

Mission of Joy returned $3.46 for the win after covering the 1 1/8-turf contest in 1:49.05.

“We sat a great trip just behind the speed,” Gaffalione said. “In the stretch I was able to tip her out around the pacesetter (Miss Riddler) and she kicked for home impressively.”

Bred in Ontario by Sam-Son Farm, Mission of Joy was produced by the Smart Strike mare Smart Mission. She was a $32,000 purchase from her breeder by Ryan Zabrowski at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale. The $122,750 winner's share of the Regret purse boosted her lifetime bankroll to $289,567.

“She came out of the Edgewood in great shape and she had a tough trip that day,” Motion said. “Today, Tyler got her into a beautiful position and she really impressed me. She's a Canadian-bred so we'd obviously look at some of those races but also some of the longer turf races in New York this summer. She handled the mile-and-an-eighth today and proved it wouldn't be an issue moving forward.”